VOA标准英语2012--Pentagon's Electromagnetic Gun Awaits Use

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The mock protesters are harmlessly dispersed¹ with a high-tech² device. 

It is called the Active Denial System. Using an electromagnetic beam that travels hundreds of meters, it heats people’s skin enough to trigger their instincts to flee. 

In development for over a decade, the device is not new. But it remains³ shrouded⁴ in mystery. 

Colonel Tracy Tafolla heads the U.S. Marines’ Joint⁵ Non-Lethal Weapons Directorate.

“Unlike conventional munitions⁷ or conventional weapons where you can hold the munition⁶, there’s a bang, there’s something to see," said Colonel Tafolla. "That’s not true here. You can’t see it, you can’t hear it. You can’t smell it.”

Developers say 11,000 tests show it is safe, with no known lasting⁸ effects. It causes a quick sensation of a hot blast - like opening the door of a hot oven. 

Officials in Los Angeles considered a smaller device two years ago, as a way to break up jail fights. Bob Osborne, a commander at the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department, says it was never used.

“I don’t know if it was because of public pressure, or something with the Department of Justice, we were never privy⁹ as to why the program was stopped," said Osborne.

Four years after it was introduced, the military has not used it either. 

Researchers say fear of the unknown is a big factor. Stephanie Miller¹⁰ is one of its developers and has tested it on herself many times.

"Understanding it very well, I say it’s not exotic, but people who don’t understand about it feel that it’s kind of mysterious. I think we’ve not embraced it because it’s new," said Miller.

Recent riots in Afghanistan have brought the device to the forefront again. 

Joseph Trevithick is a defense¹¹ analyst¹². 

Especially with the recent Quran burning incident we see the need for dispersing¹³ crowds outside of U.S. facilities or facilities where U.S. personnel are operating," he said. "These kinds of non-lethal systems provide that capability¹⁴."

By inviting¹⁵ journalists to watch, the military hopes to remove any mystery surrounding the Active Denial System. 

“Is there an apprehension¹⁶ of employing this kind of technology? I would say probably. It’s something that’s not well understood," said Colonel Tafolla.

With millions of dollars spent on developing the technology and budget cuts expected soon, the pressure is on for U.S. forces to use the gun or perhaps end the program. 

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